Europa League 2014/15 Winners and Losers from Semi-Final 1st Legs
The UEFA Europa League final is within sight following the first leg of the semi-final round Thursday evening.
Holders Sevilla look all but certain for a return to the final after beating Fiorentina 3-0 on home soil. The other semi-final served up a surprise, as Dnipro held hosts Napoli to a 1-1 draw in Italy.
Who were the winners and losers from the first leg of the two semi-finals? Keep reading to see our choices.
Winners: Sevilla and Aleix Vidal
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Sevilla defeated Fiorentina 3-0 to put one foot in the final, where manager Unai Emery's men would try to claim a second consecutive Europa League title. No team has done so since Sevilla themselves pulled off the feat in 2006 and 2007.
Sevillistas were full value for their win, too. While it's true Fiorentina created their share of chances, Sevilla were simply too good, overpowering their visitors in the second half on the way to a comfortable victory.
"The hosts, deserved winners, hunted in packs all night," tweeted UEFA.com's Tom Kell.
Aleix Vidal will take home the headlines for a two-goal performance. The right-back, who also added an assist on his side's third strike, had scored only three times this season—all in La Liga—but he showed off impressive finishing in a night he likely won't soon forget.
For Sevilla, the omens are as good as the overall performance. According to Opta, 55 Spanish clubs have won the first leg of a European tie by a 3-0 scoreline, and all 55 have advanced to the next round.
As holders, Sevilla were perhaps already the favorites to win the competition. Following Thursday's performance, they must be considered the most likely team to lift the trophy.
If that happens, Emery's reputation will only improve further. Recent rumors have linked the Spaniard with AC Milan, such as this from PA Sport (via ESPN FC), and the coming weeks could prove interesting for both club and manager.
Losers: Fiorentina and Matias Fernandez
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For Fiorentina, meanwhile, it's a crushing loss and another in a string of negative results.
Ahead of Thursday's match, the Viola had lost five of their last eight matches in all competitions as they tried to balance Serie A with the Europa League. The latter now appears lost this year, and in the league, Fiorentina only lead Sampdoria by one point in the chase for a spot in next season's Europa League campaign.
No one player should be blamed for a comprehensive defeat, but with that said, Matias Fernandez must have rued a bad miss in the first half, moments after Sevilla had scored their first goal. Unmarked along the edge of the six-yard box, Fernandez fluffed a chance to pull his side level. Had he done so, the match might have turned out much differently.
It was a truly poor miss, but as we'll see later, he wasn't the only Fiorentina player who deserved a word of reproach.
Winners: Impact Substitutes
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Both of Thursday's semi-finals featured goals by substitutes who had entered the match literally seconds before scoring.
For Sevilla, Kevin Gameiro replaced Carlos Bacca in the 75th minute and promptly scored his side's third goal 28 seconds later, per Opta.
For Dnipro, Evgen Seleznyov (pictured) came on for Nikola Kalinic in the 80th minute and netted the equalizer the very same minute.
Both converted with their first touch.
Loser: Fiorentina Goalkeeper Neto
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As noted in a previous slide, Sevilla beat Fiorentina comprehensively, and no single player should take the blame for the defeat. But goalkeeper Neto certainly could have performed better as Sevilla scored their second goal.
Collecting a pass from Vitolo on the right flank in the 52nd minute, Aleix Vidal had plenty of time and space to decide whether he wanted to shoot or cross into the middle. Perhaps anticipating a cross, Neto began to lean to his right, leaving his near post unguarded. Vidal, showing excellent awareness, slotted his shot into the space Neto should have been covering.
It was an embarrassing way to concede a goal, especially for a player who has drawn interest from Juventus as a potential successor to the legendary Gianluigi Buffon, per Ben Gladwell of ESPN FC.
Winner: Dnipro Goalkeeper Denys Boyko
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In contrast to Neto, Dnipro's Denys Boyko turned in a strong performance to help his side claim a result against Napoli.
With the hosts leading 1-0 in the second half and pushing for more goals, Boyko made a pair of important saves against Gonzalo Higuain to ensure Dnipro remained in the match.
The visitors later leveled the score thanks to Evgen Seleznyov, and though the equalizer was clearly offside, Boyko deserved plenty of credit for the way he kept his side within sight of Napoli.
"Their goal was offside and clearly an incident like that changes the result of the game and the whole complexion of the semi-final," Napoli coach Rafa Benitez said, per Sport Mediaset (h/t Football Italia).
Benitez added: "In any case, we had our chances and didn’t take them. Now we have to win the away leg, but must be quicker and more precise, as we were in the second half."
Losers: Serie A
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Italy's top flight once dominated this competition. Serie A clubs have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League nine times, more than any other country. In the late 1980s and throughout the 90s, Italian clubs all but owned the trophy.
But since Parma in 1999, no club from Serie A has reached the final of this competition. And after the first legs of this season's semi-finals, it appears that streak could continue.
Sevilla decisively beat Fiorentina by three goals, and the Viola will need a historic turnaround to see off the holders. Napoli's situation isn't quite as bad—and they will of course feel aggrieved by Dnipro's offside equalizer—but despite dominating the first leg, a trip to Ukraine will be difficult, even for a team coached by a cup specialist like Rafa Benitez.
Serie A could yet place a team in the final, but Napoli and Fiorentina have plenty of work to do.
